When does the Davis Cup start
The Davis Cup begins at the Unipol Arena in Bologna, Italy, on Tuesday, November 18.
Where to watch the Davis Cup in the UK
Live on Amazon Prime, from 2pm Tuesday
Best bets for the Davis Cup
Italy to win Davis Cup
1pt 11-8 general
Davis Cup predictions
Italy’s quest to secure a third straight Davis Cup has been made harder by the absence of four-time Grand Slam champion Jannik Sinner, but Tuesday’s withdrawal of Carlos Alcaraz for Spain may ensure that it is the same outcome at the Unipol Arena in Bologna.
Eight nations remain with Italy heading the betting at the quarter-final stage and, while Sinner’s absence clearly weakens the home challenge with Lorenzo Musetti also missing, they still have plenty in their favour with the defending champions seeming to have a good draw to work with.
Italy can showcase their great strength in depth with Matteo Berrettini, Flavio Cobolli and Lorenzo Sonego in attendance and they should sail past Austria in the last eight before a probable semi-final showdown with France.
France would pose the hosts more problems but they are missing some big names with neither Arthur Fils nor Ugo Humbert in the shake-up, so Italy should prevail given that they boast two top-40 performers and a former Grand Slam runner-up in Berrettini.
Spain, meanwhile, face a much tougher route to a potential title triumph now that is Alcaraz is forced out with a hamstring injury. Czech Republic should be considered favourites in that quarter-final and Germany, headlined by Olympic champion and world number three Alexander Zverev, are big dangers in the final four providing they can get past a talented Argentina outfit.
Spain fell to a 2-1 defeat to the Netherlands in last season’s quarter-final, with Alcaraz playing and the tournament being hosted on home turf in Malaga, which shows that even with leading lights there is no guarantee of success.
Italy still have a convincing profile as favourites, having been well supported, and Sinner’s decision to skip the event might not be as costly as it initially appeared.
Davis Cup title odds:
Here are bet365’s latest odds for the Davis Cup:
Title winnerOddsItaly
EvsCzech Republic
3-1Germany7-2France7-1Spain7-1
Argentina25-1Belgium28-1Austria50-1
Odds correct at time of publishing
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